Called Out
by A Small Voice
Summary: Alternate Performance. What would happen if you came up to your grandfather and started talking to him? What if Pop Haly hadn't waited until the end of the trip to call Dick out? After all, he had no warning. One Shot


**Called Out**

Dick stood in front of Pop Haly in his Dan Danger disguise, surrounded by his friends.

"And so we would like to join the circus." He finished his spiel, smiling up at Pop. Pop had a weird frown on his face and was studying Dick, Dan closely. Dick tried not to let his smile falter. Finally, after a minute or so of waiting, Pop opened his mouth and said,

"Does Bruce know you're here?"

Dick felt the color drain from his face, but forced his smile to stay on.

"Umm. Who's Bruce?"

"Who's Bruce? Your adoptive father?"

"Uh… I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm here with my siblings. This is Dawn…"

"Dick, I helped raise you. No mask is going to stop me from recognizing the kid who wandered into the big top as a four year old covered in elephant poop and tried to hug everyone." Dick turned bright red. Roy burst into laughter, no longer able to keep it in.

"I really think you have me confused with someone else." He said, working hard to keep his voice even. He could feel the rest of the team's eyes upon him. A quick glance proved that Conner and M'gann were completely confused and Artemis had her eyes narrowed as she was putting the pieces together, but wasn't quite there yet. Roy was one second away from collapsing.

"Stop laughing R-Dane!" He yelled at the older teen.

"Elephant Poop." Roy muttered, and fell back into it. Dick watched him in dismay, before turning back to Pop with a 'this is all your fault' expression.

"Look, Mr. Haly, I really think—"

"Dick," the man interrupted. "I need your adoptive father's permission before I can let you join again even temporarily. I'm sure you've heard that Interpol is investigating the circus because thefts keep happening on our route. They won't take kindly to unsupervised children joining the tour without parental permission."

"I'm Dan Danger! And Dane is 18! So, he's an adult." Dick crossed his arms, and tried not to pout.

"Right, so if I were to call Bruce right now and ask if he was missing a kid…" Pop reached for the phone.

"Don't!" Pop stopped his hand, looking slightly amused.

"Wait…. You don't have Ba- B's permission for this?" Artemis asked.

"Umm…"

"He's going to kill you."

"Uh…" Pop sighed, and reached for the phone as Dick's attention wandered to his teammates.

"Bruce, it's me." Dick's head popped back around. "You wouldn't happen to be missing some kids. … Yeah, I've got them here. How do you want me to send them back?... Alright, I'll let Dick know…. Oh. Sorry, I didn't exactly get a warning…. He wouldn't have lasted two minutes. Over half the circus knew him in diapers. I'm pretty sure some already saw him…. Uh huh…We can protect him… I see your point… See you in a few days in Bruges." He hung up. "Your dad said you could stay for a few days, but the rest of your friends, sans the redhead guy, have to go home. He said you have a way. He also said for the rest of you to forget anything you learned in this conversation or at least not talk about it. He'll address it later." Dick hung his head, avoiding the accusatory gazes of the rest of his team as his face persisted in bright redness. "Dane, or whatever your real name is, Bruce asked you to stay and protect Dick."

Roy straightened, wiping away a tear of mirth. "Of course, I've got his back." He said in the most serious voice he could manage at the moment. He gave the rest of the team a superior look.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Come on, Dawn, Dean. I'm sure _Dan_ will be more than happy to fill us in later, right _Dan_?" She said.

Dick gave her a quick nod, without meeting her eyes.

 **A/N**

 **It was great that in Young Justice that Pop Haly didn't call out Dick until he was leaving. However, I think that was more because he figured out that Dick was there with people who knew him as Robin, or waited for the confirmation when Dick performed. It's canon that Pop Haly knows Dick is Robin and later Nightwing. His first uniform matches his original circus costume. In later comics, the Nightwing uniform matches an old circus costume. So, I was wondering what would have happened if Pop had been a little more responsible, or hadn't realized Dick was there as Robin. That's where this came from.**

 **Review, please!**


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